Portal:1970s
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Missouri Journalism in the 1970s
The Watergate scandal and Vietnam War cover-ups left Americans hardened and skeptical. Woodward and Bernstein put investigative journalism in the spotlight. Inspired Missouri students enjoyed new facilities, new technologies and new curriculum additions – such as KBIA radio and the State Government Reporting Program – as they strove to become the next generation of watchdogs.
Spring, Paula (Longtin), BJ '71: See 1990s portal for story.
A Moment in History: the 1972 Munich Olympics
Submitted by Bob Markus, BJ '55
Almost my entire career, the final 37 years of it at the Chicago Tribune, was spent in the sports department, usually regarded as the toy department of the newspaper, not to be taken seriously. Yet, I was present at some defining moments in history. One was the first Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier fight in New York, during which Ali, even in defeat, transformed himself from a counter culture hero to a main stream icon. There was also the Bobby Riggs-Billie Jean King tennis match in the Houston Astrodome, the so-called battle of the sexes, in which Billie Jean turned Riggs into an old man in the time it took to play two sets of tennis.
Both of those stories paled in comparison with the 1972 Olympics in Munich and the blood-drenched day that brought the word "terrorism" into the world's consciousness. In contrast to today's massive coverage of the Olympic games, the Tribune sent only two writers to Munich, myself and sports editor Cooper Rollow. Even without the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes by Arab terrorists on Sept. 5, there were plenty of things to write about. Two Americans runners were banned for life from Olympic competition for the horrendous crime of fidgeting and twirling their medals on the victory stand during the playing of the National Anthem. Two U.S. sprinters failed to reach the starting blocks in time to compete in the second round of their event because their coach misread the schedule. Jim Ryun, the world record holder in the mile run, fell down during the first heat in the 1500 meters and failed to advance to the semi-finals, Mark Spitz won seven gold medals in swimming. And the United States basketball team lost a game and the gold medal for the first time in Olympic history when Russia scored a disputed basket after being given three chances to inbound the ball in the final three seconds.
But the overwhelming story of the Munich games was the attack on the Israeli compound and the subsequent shootout at Furstenfeldbruck Airport. I had not even planned on going to the games on that Tuesday, which was virtually an offday on the schedule. My wife and I and the Rollows had planned to visit the walled city of Rothenburg. We were staying in Partenkirchen, about 60 miles from the Olympic village and, since Rollow stayed overnight in Munich after covering Spitz's late night press conference, the plan was for us to pick him up along the way. But at breakfast that morning, Cooper's wife, Marj, told us she had heard from Cooper and he had told her of the attack.
My wife and I, stunned, started driving toward Munich, but when we came to the intersection where the road veered off toward the Olympic village I continued on towards Dachau, and the notorious former concentration camp. I later wrote a column on what we saw there and also a scene-setter on our arrival at the press center. My wife, also a journalist, was not credentialled and had never been to the press center before. Given what had transpired and the close security that supposedly was in place, I was shocked at the ease of which she got in. I just said to the guard, "She's with me and I need her," and he passed us in. A former AP writer in Chicago, she proved invaluable, particularly as a liaison with the AP staff on scene. While I was writing my column and color story she was off talking to other writers and bringing back whatever tidbits she could garner.
The press center was in chaos. No one knew what was happening. The frenzy continued for hours, writers swearing, rumors flying, but from the German officials--only silence. I felt particularly sorry for the Italian newsmen, who didn't speak any of the three official languages. There were still more questions than answers by 1 a.m., when the Germans called a press conference to clarify what had transpired. It was the most maddening press conference I ever attended, before or since. Olympic press conferences, at best, are stultifying. Every question and every answer must be uttered in French, English, and the language of the host country.
In this instance, the spokesman for the German Olympic committee began from the beginning, telling us of the early morning raid, the long day of negotiations, and finally, sometime after 2 in the morning the punch line--there had been a shootout at the airport and all the captured Israelis were dead. Talk about burying the lead. Swallowing my outrage, at both the Arab terrorists and the German bureaucrats, I went to my typewriter and wrote the story that, with a double byline, would appear in The Tribune the next morning. I would hand each page to Rollow, who would edit and file it, and then we all headed home. By the time we reached Partenkirchen, about 6 in the morning. The cows, their cowbells jangling, were making their way up the hill. It was a sound that usually awoke us, but this morning it was a sound that lulled us to sleep.
J-School Memorabilia Changes Over the Years
Submitted by Nelson S. Morgan, BJ '70
Nelson Morgan, BJ ’70, reflected on some of the artifacts he had from his time at the Missouri School of Journalism.
1969-70 J-School Bulletin: All students found this to be important, especially in the areas of graduation requirements and course descriptions for the various sequences.
Sigma Delta Chi Professional Journalistic Society Miss Mizzou calendar for 1970: As I recall, the nominees had a talent show of sorts at Jesse Hall. New inductees to Sigma Delta Chi served as the girls’ chaperones on the big night. I was blessed with Miss October, Vivian Viele. I believe the calendars were sold as a fund-raiser.
Reporting 106 Scrapbook: My articles are of little importance, but what some old-timers may appreciate is the handwritten initials “S.A.A.” found eight times near the binding wire. They stood for Sara Ann Allen, or “Miss Allen” as we all knew her. She was an assistant professor and older than the J-School itself. As near as I could tell at the time, her sole purpose was to sit in her tiny, cluttered office and make life difficult for all Missourian students. She would review our scrapbook every two weeks, and you had better not miss an appointment. Before my Reporting 106 class began, I’d been warned about her from previous students. I was quite concerned about my first meeting with her. As I stood outside of her office, I noticed two students ahead of me both left in disarray. One was furious and the other was almost crying. At the last moment before entering, I forced myself to stand tall and put a big smile on my face. I went in and greeted her in an outgoing manner, and she responded as such. The meeting went fine and so for the rest of the semester, no matter how badly I felt, I greeted her warmly. She never scolded me or berated my writing. Classmates couldn’t figure out why I did so well with her, and I never told my secret. A year later when I was preparing to graduate, my status was in doubt because of some transfer credits that I’d been told were accepted, but in reality had not been. It was Miss Allen who went to bat for me. The credit hours were finally accepted and I received my degree.
Inductees to the Sigma Delta Chi Professional Journalistic Society served as chaperones for the Miss Mizzou event at Jesse Hall.
Morgan's Reporting 106 scrapbook was reviewed every two weeks by assistant professor Sara Ann Allen.
Proud to be a Mizzou J-School Alum
Submitted by Martin Chebuhar, BJ '71
The University of Missouri School of Journalism gave me the skills to become (in my estimation) a respected community newspaper reporter, editor and owner. The writing techniques have served me well in careers that followed the newspaper. The education also instilled traits of impartiality and fairness that I believe have made me a better citizen and a better person. The world could learn a lot from the tenets of true journalism, which unfortunately seems to be harder to find these days amid the raucas of today's multi-media. Long live the Mizzou J-School!
